Research Projects

The gut-brain axis has emerged as a complex regulator of system-wide physiology, playing essential roles to maintain homeostasis, including contributions to brain development and activity, affecting host metabolism and behavior. The gut bacterial composition constantly fluctuates, allowing for the regular release of diverse microbe-derived...

The theoretical understanding of human motor control and learning has a strong impact on the diagnosis and treatment of motor disorders, and vice versa. Recent progress has been made in the understanding of motor control and learning, particularly with respect to understanding the functional role of neuro-behavioural variability that is inherent to...

The project TREM2MICROENGINES aims at demonstrating that raising and restoring TREM2 expression in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Nasu–Hakola disease (NHD) patients, and in particular in their microglia, would result in therapeutic benefit.AD is a severe neurodegenerative disorder that represents the most frequent form of dementia among...

Kinesin-1 transports cellular cargos along microtubules as part of neuronal transport. The localisation of kinesin-1 in neurons is tightly controlled to ensure the coordinated delivery of specific cargoes to the regions where they are required. One mechanism of control is through microtubule regulation, but the details of this are not well...

TWIN2PIPSA will improve R&I capacities of FC.ID/ULisboa (Portugal) in the field of protein folding biophysics and conformational diseases by partnering in joint Twinning activities with three world-leading research and technological development performers: the University of Cambridge (UCAM), the University of Copenhagen (UCPH), and Tel Aviv...

Protein misfolding diseases (PMDs) are a large group of human disorders caused by protein misfolding and include serious conditions with high socio-economic impact, such as Alzheimer’s disease, systemic amyloidosis, obesity, cystic fibrosis, retinitis pigmentosa and type 2 diabetes. The vast majority of them remain incurable so there is currently a...

Neurodegenerative diseases are a global epidemic with significant health, social and economic implications and despite intensive research, there is still no cure for them. Alzheimers disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurological disorder having symptoms of the progressive memory loss, neuronal cell death, loss of immune response and cognitive...

Immune cells continuously traverse our body, crossing vascular and epithelial barriers; from lymphatic organs into the blood, and from the blood into various tissues for surveillance or to fight infection. However, the brain has long been considered an immune-privileged organ. Barriers protecting the brain against infection or harmful toxic agents...

Neurons transmit information by connecting with other neurons over long distances through their dendrites and axons. Repeated stimulation places a high metabolic demand on these cells, leading to the accumulation of defective organelles and protein aggregates. To maintain protein homeostasis, neurons rely on constitutive autophagy to remove these...

Mutations in certain proteins can cause their misfolding and aggregation, posing a potential threat to the health of an organism. Protein aggregation is counteracted by protein quality control (PQC) mechanisms that reduce the amounts of damaged molecules. As we age, however, the crucial surveillance mechanisms weaken and become less effective...

Cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer disease (AD) and other age-related dementias affects ~55 million people worldwide, and is a growing problem in aging European societies. However, most drugs fail at clinical trial, and approved treatments aimed at controlling or reversing pathological changes in the brain do not improve cognition in...

Ginkgo biloba extracts are among the most widely used plant-based health supplements in the United States and Europe. However, increasing demand has led to unsustainable overharvesting, resulting in Ginkgo biloba being classified as an endangered species. These extracts contain bioactive compounds, such as ginkgolides and bilobalide. Bilobalide, in...